Want to be a mensch and still make money?

I just wanted to talk briefly of the importance of being a gentleman (or a mensch, as it’s referred to in Yiddish) in business, and dispelling the myth that being a mensch and making lots of money are mutually exclusive.

Seems to me sometimes that it’s often a case of good old-fashioned greed running amuck – and that’s really bad, I am afraid to say.

Want to be a mensch, and still make money? Then here’s a few things to bear in mind:

1. Always take a meeting request, unless the requestor is rude, arrogant and unreliable: Should be a no-brainer, but alas this cardinal rule is often ignored. We all have something to learn from everyone else – and you just never know where and how you may gain your next piece of intelligence

2. Never, ever forget to return a phone call or an email: Same as 1. above, not matter how rich and famous you think you are, return all phone calls promptly. If nothing else, you’re doing the right thing – and doing the right thing is as important, (if not more so), than making money

3. Always, always, always stay in touch: It never ceases to amaze me of the business I win by just staying in touch with people. It’s easy to stay in touch with someone when you can smell business or are on the brink of a deal. Staying in touch before the deal is made is easy. What happens if you did not win the deal? Not as easy staying in touch then huh? Well, I do – and as I said, it’s happened several times in the past 15 years, that I won the business after I had lost it to someone else (who made lofty promises that were broken), just because I stayed in touch

4. Do what you say: Another “gotcha” – doing what you say may sound hard and for sure sometimes is. Try it! You’ll gain credibility big time … and it’s easy since I’ve heard horror story after horror story of people doing one thing and saying another. It’s simple, “If you say it, then do it”. I’ve been pitching some new business for the past few weeks. Last week the potential client said he’d call me back today. And I thought “Yeah right”. We’ll guess what? He called me when he said he would, and although I did not win the business, he did what he said. It took him no more than 3 minutes to make the call. And I appreciated it. Will I say in touch? “Hell Yeah”

5. Finally, don’t hide half truths: They say the truth hurts. I say, “Concealing a fact is tantamount to telling a lie”. It’s all about straight talk – and that’s where I will leave it for today.

Some say you can be a mensch. Others say you can make money. I say, “You can be a mensch and still make money”– I know that to be true – and I have 20 years of work wealth and being a mensch behind me to prove that.

Cheers